Prayer

Since I have written about the first two ordinary means of grace: The Word and the Sacraments; I thought it would be prudent for me to spend a little time pondering the third: Prayer. Every Christian knows how important it is to pray, but many struggle to find the time to pray. There are many reasons why this is true: sloth, selfishness, and remaining sin to name a few, but from my perspective, one of the greatest motivations topray is found in Hebrews chapter 4: “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

While it is true that prayer is a great responsibility (I would never deny that!), we must never forget the fact that it is also a great privilege. The writer of Hebrews accentuates God’s invitation for us to draw near to Him and find the mercy and grace we so desperately need to live our lives in this fallen world. Whether we are in need of wisdom, struggling with a particular sin, or have been deeply hurt by someone in whom we placed our trust, the place to flee is to Christ and to the throne of grace. We have the Spirit interceding on our behalf on earth (Rom. 8:26-27), Christ interceding on our behalf in heaven (Rom. 8:34), and the Father inviting us to call out to Him with the phrase, “Abba, Father,” (Rom. 8:15), how can we not draw near to our Lord with confidence.

May prayer always be our first recourse, not our last resort, as we live our lives to the glory of the Triune God.